Apple introduces Search Ads with iOS 10 for iPhone and iPad

Apple introduced Search Ads in iOS10 to help developers promote their app within the App Store search results. if you are a developer, this would mean that users will start discovering your app at the very moment they are searching for apps like yours. The Search Ads is expected to reach the users this fall only on the US App Store.

Apple says, over 65% of downloads come directly from searches on the App Store. So this definitely has great potential for developers to explore. Further with location aware algorithms, developers now have a new way to target specific user groups that matter to them.

The Search Ads isn’t just open only for premium app publishers or developers; it gives every developer the opportunity to promote their app at the top of relevant search results and lets customers download the app with a single tap. Search Ads provides developers various targeting features that will enable deeper discovery of apps and gives visibility to lesser known or niche apps.

There is no minimum spend for a developer to advertise on the Search Ads platform so you choose as per your budget. You can even set a daily maximum spend cap. Pricing is an auction based Cost Per Tap model, where you bid the maximum amount you are willing to pay for a customer to tap on your ad. Search Ads adheres to Apple’s privacy standards, user information does remain private.

As a consumer, you won’t see any ads for apps you already have downloaded on your device. Further, with demographic and device location based targeting in place, only relevant ads would reach you while you search.

Unlike Google, An ad will only be shown if it is relevant to the search query. If an ad is not relevant to what the user is looking for, it will not be shown in the ad spot regardless of how much an a developer is willing to pay. If you are still wary, you can prevent lookup by turning on the limit-ad-tracking on their iOS devices.